Slow Down, You Crazy Child

 I don't consider myself a big Billy Joel fan, but this past May, I was reintroduced to one of his popular songs called "Vienna." I was house sitting for a family I've known for a few years and discovered, among the hundreds of DVDs in their utility closest, that they had a record player. I'm pretty found of old timey things like record players so I got excited. I immediately switched it on and placed the arm thingy along the edge of the record (cause that's how you start one in case you were completely lost).

A familiar piano intro started playing and I thought to myself, "I've heard this before..." and then Billy Joel began to sing these words:

Slow down, you crazy child.
You're so ambitious for a juvenile.
But then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?
Where's the fire? What's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out.
You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day.

My first thought after hearing these words was, "Wow... I think this song is about me." I guess being a young grad student with big dreams for the future can really take a toll on your contentment. This was just another one of the numerous moments that God was saying, "Hey, it's ok. Just relax and enjoy the now."

Another time this idea came up was this past Thanksgiving break when I was in New York City walking around downtown with a group of friends. We decided to venture into St. Patrick's Cathedral to have a look inside.

 

 

I was floored. I sat down at one of the pews and gazed at the architecture while resting my legs from hours of walking. There was a liturgical book with Bible readings and prayers for the day next to my lap so I picked it up and began to drink it in. The next thing I heard was, "We're leaving in five minutes."

 

I thought, "You're stinkin' kidding me!" I was ready to stay there for at least half an hour. A little upset, I walked down the long aisle to exit the cathedral when God said to me, "Don't rush through life." Message relayed. Loud and clear, Lord. 

People rush through life. I'm convinced this isn't just an issue with young college aged kids. It's with pretty much everyone and I think the reason a lot of Americans fill up their lives with things to keep themselves busy is because we're afraid of boredom. Today, I saw a facebook status that said this:

"Everyone spends so much time avoiding boredom, or god forbid, being labled as boring. This fear is so ingrained into our culture, it is in our movies, commercials, the way we act, the way we talk, the way we dress, in our songs (dont get me started on the songs) and it is driving me bonkers watching it. As a boring person I can assure you it aint so bad..."

That was refreshing to read and so, so true.

It also got me to think that as a person who wants to follow Jesus and to do his will, I am realizing that my decisions and my plans for the future need to be completely submitted to Him. Not based on my fear of a boring life. I can do a lot of exciting things for the Kingdom of God in exciting places with exciting people, but is it because He asked me to do them or is it because I'm running from a life of "insignificance"?

To be brutally honest, sometimes I can be just like George Bailey from "It's A Wonderful Life." He was trying his whole life to get out of the little town he grew up in because he wanted to go out and explore and learn and "build buildings a hundred stories high." I confess that I've been judgmental of people who settle for a life I consider "mundane" and boring as all get out. But now I don't want to be like that anymore. I want to realize that life is grand wherever I am.

Once I read a blog from my missionary friends in Uganda and was so inspired by what they were doing over there. I commented that I hope my life would look like that one day. They replied with something that surprised me, "Liz, your life already looks like that."

I don't want to rush and I don't want to be discontented with the life I'm living right now.


"Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth."  1 Timothy 6:6